Fort Smith directors undecided on more Hope Campus funding

Thursday

Nov 30, 2017 at 12:01 AM

By Alex Golden Times Record agolden@swtimes.com

The city’s Board of Directors has not come to a consensus on whether it will give additional money next year to the Riverview Hope Campus, a new nonprofit that addresses homelessness and poverty in Fort Smith.

Housing Authority Executive Director Mitch Minnick requested this week at the city’s budget hearings — annual meetings it has to review the proposed budget for the following year — that the city give $33,000 to the Hope Campus in addition to the $33,000 it had originally planned to give. This would match the $66,000 that the Housing Authority plans to grant the Hope Campus in 2018.

However, contributing money to the Hope Campus opens a gate for other nonprofits to ask for money from the city, At-large Director Tracy Pennartz said Tuesday.

“Because the Hope Campus is a private not-for-profit entity, they’re essentially a nonprofit which the board a year or two ago stopped funding nonprofits and that was a hard battle,” Pennartz said.

Ward 1 Director Keith Lau said that although he voted in favor of no longer funding nonprofits because doing so essentially allows the board to allocate tax money to charities of its choice, he supported giving money to the Hope Campus because it is directly providing health, safety and welfare to Fort Smith residents. Pennartz contended that the same rationale could be used for any nonprofit.

“I feel that that funding is instrumental to stabilizing the operations,” Minnick said. “To lose that funding two months after opening the doors would No. 1, be very hurtful to the operations and No. 2, I think would send a very negative message to the community.”

Minnick said by phone Wednesday that although the Hope Campus receives donations for food, clothing and other program-based costs, the money from the city is needed for administrative costs such as salaries, benefits and training for the executive director and development director. The Housing Authority has provided $400,000 in loans for the campus’ construction in addition to $33,000 grants each year beginning in 2013. The city has also contributed up to $33,000 a year since 2013. The Housing Authority has committed to providing $66,000 each year for three years beginning in 2017 and is asking that the city commit to matching that amount for two years. Last year when the Housing Authority asked the city to up its contribution, the city did not want to do so because the campus was not open yet and an executive director had not been hired, Minnick said.

Minnick said he thinks the Hope Campus will be OK if the board does not approve the additional $33,000, but he hopes the city does not decide to pull the original $33,000 it planned to contribute.

“While Hope Campus is a private, not-for-profit, it is tackling an issue of homeless. It is a public issue,” Minnick said at Tuesday night’s budget hearing.

The Hope Campus has received $600,000 in community development block grants through the city.

“It would be disingenuous to say that the city of Fort Smith does not support the Hope Campus. It’s just that this particular funding request may or may not be approved,” Pennartz said.

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